Birth Name: Maria Górska
Born: May 16, 1898
Death: March 18, 1980
The Life of a Painter
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Maria Górska was a child of a wealthy family. The middle child of two other siblings, she attended boarding school in Switzerland and in the winter of 1911, went to live with her grandmother in Italy and the French Riviera where she experienced Italian painting for the first time. When her parents divorced in 1912, Maria went to live with her aunt in Russia and then again when her mother remarried, she decided it was time to start life on her own (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). Only fifteen years old in 1913, she found her soul mate and in 1916 married Tadeusz Łempicki in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1917, during the Russian Revolution, Maria and her husband, after many difficulties, escaped to Paris, France, along with her family.
In Paris, she gave birth to Kizette de Lempicka. Before long her bold and artistic style began to show and epitomized the Art Deco movement. Her technique was novel, clean, precise, and elegant. Her first major show was in Milan, Italy in 1925 where she created 28 works of art in just six months (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). She soon became the most fashionable portrait painter of her generation. Having a many conections, de Lempicka was able to display her paintings in the most popular salons of the era. She won her first major award in 1927 which was first prize at the Exposition Internationale de Beaux Arts in Bordeaux, France.
Tamara de Lempicka was part of the bohemian life. She was bisexual and her relationships with both men and women were very scandalous for the time. She often times used nude subjects in her paintings which produced an overpowering effect of desire and seduction. Her husband, fed up with her affairs, left her in 1927 and they were divorced by 1928. So engrossed in her work, de Lempicka neglected her daughter as well. Yet, Kizette reappears many times over in her paintings. She traveled to the United States for the first time ever in 1929 to paint a commissioned portrait and to arrange a showing of her work at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka).
Throughout the next decade she continued her work and before long many museums had begun collecting it. In 1933 she traveled to Chicago and that year she also married her lover, Baron Kuffner, who changed her "quasi-bohemian lifestyle" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). In the summer of 1939. de Lempicka arranged for a showing of her work in New York, even though she and her husband chose to settle in Beverly Hills, California. In 1941 she managed to get Kizette out of Nazi-attained Paris and then in 1943 she and her husband relocated to New York City. By now, her popularity as a society painter had greatly diminished and for awhile she continued to paint in her signature syle, but soon expanded to still lifes and even some abstract painting. After adopting a new style of using a palette knife instead of brushes, her work was not well-recieved when she exhibited it in 1962. De Lempicka was set on never showing her work again and retired from her life as a professional artist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka).
After her husband's death, de Lempicka sold most of her posessions, made three trips around the world, and finally settled in Houston, Texas with her daughter and her family. Her glory days as an artist seemed lost and in 1978 Tamara moved to Mexico. She died in her sleep on March 19, 1980 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka).
The Legacy
Tamara de Lempicka lived long enough to influence a new generation, who discovered and enthusiastically greeted her artwork. At the time of her death, her earliest Art Deco paintings were being shown and sold once again (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). Collectors of her work include Jack Nicholson and Madonna, who has idolized Lempicka in many of her music videos. Some of her works can also be found in the 5th season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television series.
Tamara de Lempicka
Birth Name: Maria Górska
Born: May 16, 1898
Death: March 18, 1980
The Life of a Painter
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Maria Górska was a child of a wealthy family. The middle child of two other siblings, she attended boarding school in Switzerland and in the winter of 1911, went to live with her grandmother in Italy and the French Riviera where she experienced Italian painting for the first time. When her parents divorced in 1912, Maria went to live with her aunt in Russia and then again when her mother remarried, she decided it was time to start life on her own (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). Only fifteen years old in 1913, she found her soul mate and in 1916 married Tadeusz Łempicki in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1917, during the Russian Revolution, Maria and her husband, after many difficulties, escaped to Paris, France, along with her family.
In Paris, she gave birth to Kizette de Lempicka. Before long her bold and artistic style began to show and epitomized the Art Deco movement. Her technique was novel, clean, precise, and elegant. Her first major show was in Milan, Italy in 1925 where she created 28 works of art in just six months (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). She soon became the most fashionable portrait painter of her generation. Having a many conections, de Lempicka was able to display her paintings in the most popular salons of the era. She won her first major award in 1927 which was first prize at the Exposition Internationale de Beaux Arts in Bordeaux, France.
Tamara de Lempicka was part of the bohemian life. She was bisexual and her relationships with both men and women were very scandalous for the time. She often times used nude subjects in her paintings which produced an overpowering effect of desire and seduction. Her husband, fed up with her affairs, left her in 1927 and they were divorced by 1928. So engrossed in her work, de Lempicka neglected her daughter as well. Yet, Kizette reappears many times over in her paintings. She traveled to the United States for the first time ever in 1929 to paint a commissioned portrait and to arrange a showing of her work at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka).
Throughout the next decade she continued her work and before long many museums had begun collecting it. In 1933 she traveled to Chicago and that year she also married her lover, Baron Kuffner, who changed her "quasi-bohemian lifestyle" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). In the summer of 1939. de Lempicka arranged for a showing of her work in New York, even though she and her husband chose to settle in Beverly Hills, California. In 1941 she managed to get Kizette out of Nazi-attained Paris and then in 1943 she and her husband relocated to New York City. By now, her popularity as a society painter had greatly diminished and for awhile she continued to paint in her signature syle, but soon expanded to still lifes and even some abstract painting. After adopting a new style of using a palette knife instead of brushes, her work was not well-recieved when she exhibited it in 1962. De Lempicka was set on never showing her work again and retired from her life as a professional artist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka).
After her husband's death, de Lempicka sold most of her posessions, made three trips around the world, and finally settled in Houston, Texas with her daughter and her family. Her glory days as an artist seemed lost and in 1978 Tamara moved to Mexico. She died in her sleep on March 19, 1980 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka).
The Legacy
Tamara de Lempicka lived long enough to influence a new generation, who discovered and enthusiastically greeted her artwork. At the time of her death, her earliest Art Deco paintings were being shown and sold once again (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka). Collectors of her work include Jack Nicholson and Madonna, who has idolized Lempicka in many of her music videos. Some of her works can also be found in the 5th season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a television series.
Works Cited
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_de_Lempicka
http://www.arthistoryguide.com/travel/travel42.aspx